Astros' season opener a holy day for area Christians, Jews

By Kate Shellnutt

Updated 10:42 pm, Thursday, April 5, 2012

Photo: Brett Coomer

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The Rev. T.J. Dolce, a baseball-loving vicar at St. Martha Catholic Church in the Kingwood area, says the sport's opening day has a natural connection to Good Friday, which he calls "the day of the greatest victory we've ever witnessed."

The Rev. T.J. Dolce, a baseball-loving vicar at St. Martha Catholic Church in the Kingwood area, says the sport's opening day has a natural connection to Good Friday, which he calls "the day of the greatest

Lisa Klein watches every Astros game outside her Friday night and Saturday Sabbath observance, and she plans to make up for missing the season opener by being in attendance for Tuesday's game against Atlanta.

Lisa Klein watches every Astros game outside her Friday night and Saturday Sabbath observance, and she plans to make up for missing the season opener by being in attendance for Tuesday's game against Atlanta.

Photo: Brett Coomer

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The Rev. T.J. Dolce poses for a portrait in the sancturary of St. Martha Catholic Church Tuesday, April 3, 2012, in Porter. Dolce, a devoted Houston Astros fan, will not be spending baseball's Opening Day cheering on the Astros. Since Opening Day falls on Good Friday, the priest will be spending the day in prayer and serving his parishioners. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

The Rev. T.J. Dolce poses for a portrait in the sancturary of St. Martha Catholic Church Tuesday, April 3, 2012, in Porter. Dolce, a devoted Houston Astros fan, will not be spending baseball's Opening Day

Local Jewish leader Lisa Klein, a devoted Astros fan, will miss tonight's opener because of Passover.

Local Jewish leader Lisa Klein, a devoted Astros fan, will miss tonight's opener because of Passover.

Photo: Brett Coomer

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The Rev. T.J. Dolce poses for a portrait in the sancturary of St. Martha Catholic Church Tuesday, April 3, 2012, in Porter. Dolce, a devoted Houston Astros fan, will not be spending baseball's Opening Day cheering on the Astros. Since Opening Day falls on Good Friday, the priest will be spending the day in prayer and serving his parishioners. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

The Rev. T.J. Dolce poses for a portrait in the sancturary of St. Martha Catholic Church Tuesday, April 3, 2012, in Porter. Dolce, a devoted Houston Astros fan, will not be spending baseball's Opening Day

The Astros' opening day is among the holiest on the calendar for faithful baseball fans, full of hot dogs and hope for a new season, but this year, it falls on two actual holy days - the observance of Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday and the first night of the eight-day Jewish festival of Passover.

It's the first time the team's opening day has overlapped with the holidays since the 1970s, leaving some fans to skip the sport for their own religious rituals. Instead of singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," they'll be on their knees in silent prayer or gathered around the table for seder singing about the Jewish exodus in "Dayenu."

The scheduling conflict for baseball fans in eight cities offers a chance to examine how baseball, the great American pastime, connects to their own experience of faith.

"From a sports perspective, Good Friday is our big win," said the Rev. T.J. Dolce, a sports-loving vicar at St. Martha Catholic Church in the Kingwood area. "It's the day of the greatest victory we've ever witnessed. Through the death of Jesus on the cross, we won our salvation. It's a sad day, but ultimately glorious."

As the Astros take on the Colorado Rockies tonight at Minute Maid Park, Dolce - like many Houston Catholics - will be praying the Stations of the Cross.

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The Good Friday conflict hasn't come up as an issue among Christian players, according to Kevin Edelbrock, who leads chapel for the team on Sundays. The Astros' longtime chaplain, Gene Pemberton, retired when Drayton McLane, himself an outspoken Baptist, sold the team last year.

"A lot of guys recognize (Good Friday) on their own. I've never heard of it being a point of contention," said Edelbrock, a nondenominational minister who's been involved with the team for eight years. "There's so much energy put into opening day. Easter Sunday is more where we're focused."

An 'optional holiday'

Texas is among about a dozen states that officially recognize Good Friday, a solemn day that marks the end of Lent. Public schools, courthouses and government offices tend to be closed on this "optional holiday."

Passover, which begins just an hour or so after the Astros' first pitch of the season, is less publicly observed, and Orthodox Jewish families in Texas have grown used to missing out on certain activities because of their obligation to their faith.

"I would have skipped it anyway since it's Friday night (the Sabbath), but it's kind of a double whammy that it's also the special night of Passover," said Lisa Klein, a local Jewish leader and Astros fanatic.

Klein watches every game outside her Friday night and Saturday Sabbath observance and attends at least a dozen a year. She's already got tickets to Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Braves and plans to take advantage of new stadium policies that allow outside food by bringing kosher-for-Passover snacks.

The Rev. Josh Hale, a Houston native now serving at a Methodist church in Nacogdoches, is hoping to balance his schedule on Friday to fit in both.

"It's tough because as a pastor and a Christian, the liturgy and church calendar is really foundational for my spiritual life," he said. "The game starts at 6:05, and my Good Friday prayer vigil starts at 6. It's bad scheduling. I'll have to DVR the game for later that night."

Kicking off the Astros' season on one of the most solemn days of the church calendar may pose a conflict for some from liturgical traditions, but it also could complement Christians' understandings of the incarnation and the crucifixion, according to Baylor University professor John B. White, director of a seminary program for sports chaplains.

"Why couldn't one attend a Good Friday service and then go to the ballpark and experience the game differently? Even in the midst of the game, there are themes that go with the Christian understanding of life," said White, referencing the defeat and victory, death and rising again that happens on a different level in sports.

Astros fans know pain

These struggles are all too familiar to longtime Astros fans, like the Rev. William Miller, who was at the Astrodome the year it opened in 1965 and has followed the team ever since.

"When you say the Astros' opening day is on Good Friday, I have to chuckle because I think of all the pain we have gone through as Astros fans," said Miller, who used to serve at Houston's Trinity Episcopal Church and moved to a congregation in Hawaii several years ago. "The themes of loss and loyalty, staying true to one's calling when things seem most dire, hoping for a resurrection: Those are all things we've felt."

After last year's team-record 106 losses, Christian fans are holding out for wins to give them additional reasons to celebrate this weekend.

Ryan Beaty, pastor at VillageHouston church in University Village, tweeted, "If you're in the Houston area, catch an Astros game this weekend! Jesus is alive and so is baseball!"